1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking and distribution vessel for cakes or food in general comprising at least a small cup made of paper material, adapted to be directly introduced into an oven and having an upper rim formed with a series of peripherally-extending consecutive portions folded over towards the outside, the inside and again the outside respectively, so as to define a peripheral engagement groove along the outer edge of the small cup, and a laminar support made of stiff paper material and provided with a through hole for detachably housing said small cup, in the region of the peripheral groove thereof.
2. Prior Art
It is known that cooking and distribution vessels for cakes and food in general are available on the market. Said vessels are substantially formed with a laminar support made of paper provided with a through hole in which a bun case designed to contain a bun or other cake is housed. By the term "bun case" in the pastry-making confectionary field it is meant a vessel made of pleated paper material obtained by molding from flat paper sheets. When finished, the bun case has a substantially frusto-conical or frusto-pyramidal top-open shape.
In greater detail the bun case is comprised of a substantially flat bottom wall from which a pleated side wall circumferentially extends in a substantially vertical direction. In addition, formed along the upper edge of the side wall by a series of consecutive folded over portions, is an outer circumferential groove adapted to enable the removable engagement of the bun case with the support.
Normally the laminar supports are originally joined to one another in order to form a baking tin that can be used for holding a predetermined number of cakes and enable the simultaneous introduction and removal of said cakes into and from the baking oven when the production takes place industrially.
The junction between the laminar supports takes place along respective break lines defined by punching, in order to enable the cakes to be easily separated from one another so that they can be individually distributed to consumers. In addition, it is provided that at the intersection area between the different break lines, shaped engagement seatings be formed that enable the baking tin to be seized by grasping means carried by automatized conveyor means used in the cake cooking and packaging plants.
Although the above described vessels appear efficient, they still have some drawbacks.
Actually, since the bun cases are made with paper adapted for food the basis weight of which is sometimes very reduced in order to control the costs thereof as much as possible, they have problems connected with a weak strength which results in wear, due to the high moisture present under some environmental conditions.
Frequently it is in fact necessary to put the vessels in the refrigerator for more or less long periods of time for the purpose of preserving the product contained therein. For example, at the end of a working day, the confectioner must put the amount of unsold cakes in the refrigerator for a better preservation of them that will enable him to sell the same the following day.
In addition, it may happen that, due to production requirements, the dough introduced into the bun cases needs to be put in the refrigerator before its final cooking.
Under these conditions the bun cases of the present vessels have tendency to become moist and to collapse, thereby losing their elasticity, strength and seal characteristics in an irreversible manner.
As a consequence of that the vessels are no longer reliable in the conveying operations during the various production and packaging steps. In addition, the alterations of the bun cases impairs the aesthetic features of the final product giving the buyer an impression of bad quality of the product itself that, although wrong, induces him to buy other cakes that look fresher.
Another problem encountered at the present state of the art is connected with the obtention of an adequate distribution of heat inside the vessel during the cake cooking. In the connection it is to be pointed out that some types of cakes need a greater amount of heat close for example to the side surface thereof rather than at the bottom or vice-versa, for the achievement of an optimal cooking.